Storage system for treating material



Feb. 5, 1952 J. G. MELLEN 2,584,727

STORAGE SYSTEM FOR TREATING MATERIAL Filed Nov. 6, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 1Feb. 5, 1952 J. G. MELLEN STORAGE SYSTEM FORy TREATING MATERIAL 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 6, 1945 nvezze A@ Feb. 5, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet3 Filed NOV. 6, 1945 Abm. km. Q

Tum E Sb W l@ www 6m mm hm uw m I vl@ u@ NW Bm. QW Nm Feb. 5, 1952 J. G.MELLEN STORAGE SYSTEM FOR TREATING MATERIAL I 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FiledNov. 6, 1945 Patented Feb. 5, 1952 .UNITED iJosephGrenvilletMelleneGmfportpMissz 4"Apntic-ation Nvemuer s, 192:5;seriar,mcz7;u`1a

asgelaims. (o1. 34e-e225)- 1f This invention relates tof-a lvstoragesystem or' installation for-'xna-terial-packaged air-pervibus bags;lbei-ngv in particular directed to--the-storagel and treatment of baggedrefined sugar.

Due-tothehygroscopicJcha-racter of sugar; lits storagev `presentsproblems LWhich- Viheret'ober'orehave never been satisifaotorily"met.the 'best priorsystem, the-'bags of-suga'r (fthe bag material beingordinarily an air-pervious textile ifa-briciare stacked fon-elevated'dunnage 'mats-- in-a lstorage room, heated1e3-iri`s-openly suppliedintothe upper room atmosphere. and partially circulated by ceiling fans.The "increased-higher* `tempera- .tui-'e` of 'the upper .zonesfofk:theroom-atmosphere is vof -`value but A#limi-te'dfinl a generalway -to-th'e'f upper and vouter vbags Ikbeeai-isethe tempera-turex of" the-roomatmospheres shades 2011*" downwardly with reduced heating Aeiect as ftheiioor' `is approached; andi-With anfextendedffdefieiency inA the/areaunder theibottomibags andilowerlcentral': partA of the stack'. Thelpriorv systemsyare based" upon-aheat-transfer Strom-ftheheatedfroomatmos phere to the sugar by slow/*conduction -tovandthroughthe outer bags inward land Athrouglrtle' upper bags downward?. Thestagnant `Aair spacesL between the stacked bagscons'titute thousands ofinsulation cells and potential humidity pockets; tolsayf-no thingoff-'the millionsfof fsma'llerla'irfspaces between the grains off sugarltli'efbagSz y 'If' it were merely 'a Yquestion/offstoringf sugar in r'acontinuing hermeti'cally sealed room, l'and'. assuming the sugar tos bein good condition at the. time IitisstaGKed'-, y'the vcare -ofF-itfwouldbe simple, -either Aby an adequate reduction- /of the absolutefhimidityVheld in the roomv atmosphere o1'` by an adequate increase A:in :thetemperature` of the'froom--atmosphere, orpartlyffb'oth. 'How-'- be at aheat zlevel below y'the rhygr'o'scopic- 'dewf point' of the air comingin 'con-tact withV it'v lfor' anV appreciable- 'l'ength =of time','thenv'the sugar willabsorbfmoistureffrom'thatair; `AIffit-'hislattercondition" continues -or' repeated, the sugzairf mass-wilr-takefupconsiderable moisturearidesuixsequently become crusty and 'the earl-'yfstages,r fand at 'times contents -o' ibags becomes-hard' 2amalgama-tedmasses lump* ing, crusting and hardening, -aiects'f many#l'afaaigs;particularly in the bottom layersuand lowerfeore-f portions ofthestaek.l Y Y iIn accordance with the@pres'erit'-inventiom#the baggedL sugariis'- 'stacked r'on fperforate for" PIaitieedV supporting means suelrespeciallyputter-medi duim-age mats; orvelevated' Agraifngs;V of fkinlumber oref iight. metal llaeam's orwH beamsy and channels embracing,lor beneathlwliicm -are conduits-for ithe ,supply-throughtheop'enin'gsi-'last by' blowerhea'ter units; :of heatedaaiirirr'moti'orrv under. pressurepthefainbeing#causedf tot `.rise andispreadk upwardrand ihorizontallyfthroughoutache stack, or for asuiiicient height throughout lower. ,.partion.: suithatzithenstackusameated; ifrnm the bottomiupwandzandzfmmttheinnenareas ward. jay 'zquickenesi heat suc--v cession fof `moving`heated Lair .contacting :the numerousL bags. )by enlfnrced'displacement-fand: imparted convectionv the snacesbetweent the bagsandsupplemented .quckenedfeonducton, from :bag to bag.Thehottestppantlof ,thevgstack is thus lat the. bottomy and. v`thedinected andi-gaar tially confined heatedfair. motion andgunder ever, infactual commercial practice; Warehouse' rooms .are not-absolutelyvairtight nor ipositively' moistureproof. 'Furtherthan this iwarei-muse"rooms.'have:toI be provided with-roneformore doors and thezsroomldoororfdoo'rs :mustbe opened-"16er"- loading in-oand outatyaryingintenvalsfthroughout all -seasonsfof thef year; :being ,sometimjesmperiv for thevfull working day for several .consecutive days. Thus Vin actuall.practice theroomzatmosphere is subject to harmful modification vby'admittedaoutsidea-ir.

-If' the relativehumidity ofthe air connediinz.

thestorageroom is reduced-by Yeitheralternativef hutfwithout regard vtothe. adequategheati-ng ofthev sugar itself, and. it the storedzsugan:assa result of the disregard of its temperature, happens-"tos lpressure.. blanketsK .the .bottom off the bottom. bags' and distributes.amidstthe. lowerlayersy part ,of v'the 'heated-'air -..wh'cl`1.escapeshorizontally from' the sides and ends at .thelower levels,risesA incontact with the kouter .'suraceslofrthe ,Ilower outer bags, provides aIieatingenve1op. 'Ilese features are oigreat.importance'inlater'prenant? ing damage'etoth'e condition ofsugara's areslt of"y .coolerv or` damper air' eutering'fi'oru theoutside: and spiiling "'a:lbng*theHoon 'particularly whentheroomdbors'arecpen.

practicingthisinventionthe'relatiiveumid; itwfor :the ai-r'inyytheStorageuoorn duringsubisce quent fiolestorageperiodsiszinaintiainediatcome phere, as itA isextremely'fidesinahleiathatixevemlth;

That] sugar that# canbeiadversely affected as a resulty of hygroscopicaction is limited by the quantity of water available to its hygroscop-icaction. It.

then follows that air containing Va.lfiighmeasuree of absolute humiditycontactable'with the sugar possesses potentialities of danger eventhough the immediate relative humidity of thatl air1is within the lowerpercentages. To illustrate, 1 present the following: Take air at VF: of'100% 'relative humidity in comparison with air at 90 F.v with` w arelative humidity of 867g The former is already at .dewpoint and evenifit gave up allrof the water it contains,` it could aiect but a limitedsupply of sugarwhereas in the latter case a steep dropn temperaturecould force the air to give upa quantity ofwater far in excess of theentire amount present in the former, and could affect milch more Suear,-

1.ljIhe illustration is based upon normal dewpoints, and thenconvertibleWaterV potentially available further Vincreasedrunder hygroscopiccapacity O f sugar If the quantity of absolute humidity is abnormallyhigh, there `will be required an abnormally higher temperature toVreduce its relative humidity to the desired lower`r percentage. It isdesirable to `vavoid heating the yroom air to unnecessarily hightemperatures. Therefore, if and whenthe lxqzorilfiriued. roomzlirtmosphere,` during idle storage, contains -an absolute humidityr inexcess of the-ratio of onepound of water 4to seven hundred cubic vfeetof theroom atmosphere, it is desirablefto remove .theexcess absolutehumidity by any means available.. I

i If. the air isdelivered .from .the blower-heater units at 130". F.,then,underrmymethod` the air at v this temperaturecomes into direct-contact with the sugar and-is delivered in full and rapid successionthereto at a high temperature differential; whereas,'-bloWer-heaterunits used under prior systems '-merelydeliver theheated air into theroomy atmosphere into which it diiuses. While-the number of vheat unitsdelivered `respectivelycould be the same, the heat is injected bymy-methoddirectly into thesugar at a very substantial temperaturedifferential;l whereas, under priorsystemfafter vthes diffusion into theroom atmosphere, very little temperature differential is available forheat transfer' tothe sugar, and then only'toth'e 'outsidebags.v l fProper andeconomical'functioning requires a properly fde'slgned`- andwell-constructed warehouse" with .emphasis VVon` insulation against theescape of heat from the room` atmosphere and with every practicableprecaution against the admittance of Amoisture throughthewalls and roof,,andlwith; double emphasis on a. moistureproof floor'. yThesevrequisites apply equally to the. points atjjunction Vofthe wallsLthewalls and floor, and thewallsfand roof. v

It is .desirable todivide a 'spacious warehouse intoI :several xseparate E compartments Vor store- .v r-u rooms,.eachwell:insulatedl U2,584,727 Y ,l .j

In the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a horizontal section of a room equipped in accordance withthe invention, six storage platforms with heat supplying means beingshown, the platforms being empty,

Figure 2 is a section substantially on line 2-2 of Figure 1 showing inelevation a loaded platform and associated heat supplying means,

Figure 3 is a section on line 3--3 of Figure 4,

Figure 4 shows the left hand portion of Figure 2bn an enlarged Scale, ,yY

Y Figure 5-is a plan vie'won fanenlargedscale of a platform whichappears in Figure 1, .Figure 6 is a section on line B-S of Figure 5 on afurther enlarged scale,

Figure 7 is a section on line 1 1 of Figure 6,

Figure 8 is a View like that of Figure 2 showing a modiedstackingarrangement,

Figure l9 is a diagrammatic plan View of a stack showing anotherstacking arrangement,

Figures 10 and 11 are side and end elevations,

y respectively, of the stack of Figure 9, the platform being shown insection,

Figure 12 is a diagrammatic plan view of a stack showing still anotherstacking arrangement,

Figures 1,3 and 14 are side and end elevations,

. I3, and I4 provided with doors I5, I6, I'I, and I8,

and a ceiling I9. Desirably, with the doors closed, the room is as airtight as possible. Reference letters PI and P6 designatel identicalplatforms in accordance with the invention, vthese being .5 spaced fromeach other and inwardly of the side walls throughout and preferably notless than 21/2 feet. VReference numeral 23 designates posts in theaisles between the platforms. As above stated, the platforms are allidentical and platform PI and its appurtenances are shown in Figures 2to 7 to which reference will now be made.

Y'Iheplati'orm PI comprises a head portion Pla and a foot portion PIb,each made up of a number of square units, as here shown, two unitsdisposed side by side constituting a section and establishing the widthof the platform.

The rst section, SI is made up or" units UIa. and UID. Unit UIacomprises parallel stringers 2l resting on the floor I and extendinglongitudinally of the platform and, as here shown in Figure 7, there areve of the stringers in equally spaced relation. Secured on top of thestringers and extending throughout the length thereof is animperforate'covering 22 -and this may conveniently be a plywood panel, or boardsnailed" in place. Reference numeral 23 designates .the stringers of aseries of stringers on top of theV covering. 22 and directly above thestringers 2I respectively.

:Secured on tcp of kstringers 23 at their forward end isa board 24,Figures 5 and 6,' and reference numeral 25 designates slats secured tothe top of stringers-23 in spaced relation t'o board 24 and to'eachother, the spaces between the slat ends above the'o'utside st1inger723being filled with blocks 26so thatan'mperforate lateral marginisprovided: f

assayed? Uni'tlfU lbscompriseslower :strangers2.1.,.1a4covering128',rupperstringers's,:aiboard 1i@ aligned withboardid',slatsil.,:andnllerblocksit.. Preferably, thecross portions .ofthe units. project beyond the: outerstringersso thatwhen .the unitsarebuitted together as showninFigure .7,.spaceswillexist betweenthe.adjacentstringers. Vg

Sections S2. to Sr'li are .exactly yilike 'sectionySfi except thattheirtop surface is .'cornposedof slatsA throughout, the boards as at.2li .and :iii being omitted. The .slats lof adjacent .sections .are soplaced that a normal space will exist vbetween the adjaoentsl'ats of thetwo sections. vThe nal seotionrSBLof 'the .platiorm portionP I a:is.-lil;e:se^ tionSll .except that .boards .35. and 36, extend along.the rear .edge of thexsection. .It will be 4understood that the.stringers of the several sections are in respective .alignment withw.the result .that bottom conduits s? andtop rconduits .38.; vextending.`throughout the length .of platform portion Pla, are provided. TheLdunnage .mat structure provided by the slats constitutes aperforatesupporthig surface with imperiorate lmargins throughout itsperimeter as provided-:by .the end boards 24, 33,35 and 3S, and the slatends and ller blocks.

The platform portion Plb is made upaofsouare units of the same area asthe units. of portion. Pto. They differr from the latter in vthattheyupper stringere and covering are omitted. v.Unit Uta, Figure 6,comprises stringers as at'lii aligned. with the stringere 2iofplatformportion Pl a. Secured on top yof stringers 39 are an end'boarddii and slats il `with end ller Vblocksthe saine as inunit Ulu., and, inthese respects, unit Ugh corresponds with .unit Ulb. The nalsection ofplatform portion Plb is composed of units corresponding to units U80.and Utl) in top.-structure, including end boards as at 32, Figure 6.Thus, platformvportion- Ptb has a top perforate surface except .for acontinuous imperforate marginal portion. and 'has conduits between thestringers 39 in continuation of the conduits 31 of platform portion Pla.Reference numeral 4-3 designates a block rresting on the floor ii! andextending across the end of the nal platform section lSie and adapted.to serve' as a damper at the ends of .the ducts;v A similar damper terestson'the boards at the forward end of section S9 and serves as adamper for the control of conduits.

The bags E of sugar are stacked on the platform portions in overlyingrelation 4to. theimperforate margins, as. particularly shown in Figure.'7, some clearance being left atthe kbottom of the stackzbe tween thetwo portions to vpei-.mit adjustmentof damper element de. As here shown,the stack comprises sixlongitudinally extending. .tiers'Tl vto T6, eachtier being two bags wide with alternate courses laid cross-wise.

twenty bags high so ythat the stack ,is substantially square in crosssection withits vtopwell below the roof. Y

.Supported in any suitable manner-ibetweenthe top-of,A thefstack andthe. adjacent roomwall7 lil -isfa blowerf on' axis extending-.parallel-tothe 6. wall?. The blower has. axial inletscommunieating.' with inletchambers A@ and .M which :have controhdarnpers.e8y and149, respectively,vfor-auxiliary. air. Additionally, chamber f3.7. isincommunication witha heater unit 50, here assumedto .be a.

gasfiheater with .aiiue 5J l.extending .through vthe roof and-lanfarinlet .extending .through wall lil.. Ordinarily--dampersd and .damay .beclosed.'

so that the .enti-re intake. to .the blower will. be through the. heaterunit. The 'blower includes ashaft 52. which extends through chamber :i6.to be'. driven. Yby a motor 53, andlhas a .bottom .outlet connectedby aspreader .54 with a .head .box .5d which has. aniopen .side Vextendingentirelyiacross. thelh'eadzend of the platform. andregisteringwiththeconduits andl. Mountedwithin theheadbox. ona. transversaaais at thelevel of thecovering; 22. is aidainper E13 by means .of whichdelivery tothe.top.andbottoinconduitscanbe apportioned tolti-ie exten-t vofb.eing..f.fii.fertible entirely torone or the other.

iith the .stack unizormly occupying the entire platform, the heated airvdelivered uniformly across the head box will be suppliedsubstantiallyequally .to the top and bottom conduits, or perhaps.favoring somewhat the lower conduits in view of theirxgreater length.The air in the .top conduits of portion .Pta .is caused to rise throughthe periorationsof the latter dueto back pressure. caused by damperfill. However, the damper should be .arranged `topermit some escape at'the endet the conduits in order ,to allow some .longitudinal movementof .the air at the. conduitvextreniities so as to insure proper deliveryunder the end bags.

The heated air delivered to the lowerfconduits Si is led to `theconduits of platform Asection Plb, damper i3 being ordinarily adjustedto cause a back pressure while still permitting of some escape. j

The heated air, thus-supplied, rises and spreads throughout the stack,or at least the lower vulner-able portion thereof, lateral escapedirectly at'the bottom of .the stack being minimized by the imperforatemarginal portions which the bottom outside bags overlie. Directlateralescape is minimized throughout the height of the stack due to the closestacking of the outside bags. The best totalpermeati-on is secured whenthe stack is not too high in relation to its width. The air now isindicated by the arrows in Figures 2, 4, 6,

and '7.l

Thus, the heated. air delivered substantially throughout the bottom areaof the stack is caused' torise and spread through the stack with an eX-tremely efcient heat transfer to the bag c011- For thejbest results,vthe outside tiers T and T6 are closely stacked, fthat tents and an airtemperature is .maintainable in and around the stack such that thesugarcan be kept at the required temperature. In short, the stack isenveloped in a heated atmosphere, hottest atl the bottom, the sides andtop of the envelope deriving from the air which shades downwardly intemperature as it rises and spreads through. the stach and escapestherefrom. The blower intake, as shown in Figures 2 to 4, is near theheight to which the stack is intended to be built so that the air atthis level will be taken in and re-circulated. As above stated, theconditionand temperature of the heated air are such that the relativehumidity is maintainable below 60% and the sugar at a temperature.tdprevent hygroscopic section thereof. If these conditions aremaintained, the sugar can be stored indennitely with noA cakng whatever.Y Also, asfthe temperature of the room-air outsideof the-stack is onlyabout that of the heated sugar, the temperature in the room isrelatively comfortable, in contrast to any system that relies uponsufciently heating the room as the sole medium for heating the sugar.

Loading out of the stack may begin at its foot end. When the finalsection SIB has been unloaded, the section can be removed and damper 43associated with the end of section S|5, and so on, and damper 56appropriately adjusted. If the platform were not made in removablesections, it would be desirable to cover over the unloaded section toprevent waste of heat and unnecessary heating of the room atmosphere.

Where the platform is of any considerable length, the steppedconstruction, which has been described, is desirable for proper heatdistribution, but the invention is not limited to this arrangement. Onthe other hand, in the case of an exceptionally long platform more stepscould obviously be provided.

It is contemplated that the system may be used for the storage andtreatment of other materials packaged in air pervious bags, for example,gran- -ular material such as cereal grains and legumes. If it is merelya question of drying, the heater unit can be turned off or omitted andair drying chambers may be provided in connection with the blower intakeor output in known manner. If desired, fumigants or insecticides can beintroduced into the blower intake chambers for the treatment of thestacked material. Generally speaking, the new system is designed for thesupply of any gaseous conditioning medium to stacked bagged material. n

In Figure 8, the stacking arrangement differs from that of Figure 2 inthat a space 59 is left between the stacked bags on the foot and headportions of the platformthat is, separate stacks are built on the twoportions. The adjacent stack ends are closely stacked in overlyingrelation to the imperforate margins, but additional lateral air escaperesults as indicated by the arrows.

Assuming proper warehousing conditions with the room atmosphereadequately heated, the part of the stack vulnerable to hygroscopicaction -rarely reaches a height of more than eight feet from the door,with the bottom bags and lower core portion of the stack the mostvulnerable of all. Therefore, as a matter of actual necessity, theupward distribution and diffusion of the heated air need not ordinarilybe extended above about the 11th orr12th layer up from the floor. Usingmy hereinbefore described preferred stacking procedure (close, normal,and loose), it can be terminated at the eleventh or twelfth layer, orthereabout, and the added layers superimposed solely by normal stacking.

In order to promote diffusion in the lower part of the stack I mayutilize the stacking systems illustrated in Figures 9 to 14. Referringto Figures 9 to 11, reference numeral 19 designates a single-level ductplatform in accordance with the invention and reference numeral 1| astack of bagged material thereon. Reference numeral 12 designateschimney-like spaces left in the central portion of the shaft andextending from the perforate mat up to the tenth or twelfth layer, orthereabout, with the layers thereabove in normal stacking relation. InFigures 12 to 14 the arrangement is similar except that a continuouselongated space or chimney 13 is left in the central portion of thestack. y The purpose of these two stacking patterns is to permit easiermovement upwardly and, thence,

the latter.

8, horizontally outwardly, of the heated air rst injected under thebottom bags. In all cases care must be taken to prevent depriving thebottoms of the bottom bags of a full spread of the injected highlyheated air, especially with respect to the bags remote from the ductinlets.

In Figure 15 I have shown a modified design of platform insuringadequate delivery of heated air lengthwise throughout an elongatedstack. In this case, bottom stringers as at 14 support a solid floor 15,say for half their length from the head box 16, the floor being composedof spaced slats 16 with closure blocks 11 throughout the remainder ofthe length of the stringers. Stringers 18 supported on the platformabove stringers 14 extend the full length of the latter and support aslatted mat 19 which extends from end to end of the stringers andincludes the lateral closure blocks. In this manner, upper and lowerseries of ducts extending throughout the length of the platform areprovided, both being controllable by an apportioning damper 8|) and anend damper 8|. The upper series of conduits deliver throughout throughmat 19 whereas the lower series carries the gaseous medium, heated ornot, past the solid oor 15 before upward delivery occurs, thus insuringadequate supply under the far end of the stack.

In Figure 16 I have shown an air delivery and treating system ofpreferred design. As hereinbefore mentioned, it is desirable once thestacks have been built to establish quickly the requiredtemperature-humidity effect, although once this has been established,relatively little heat is required in the case of idle storage. It hasalso been stated that if during idle storage the absolute humidity is inexcess of the ratio of one pound of water to seven hundred cubic feet ofroom atmosphere, the excess should be removed. During the hottest periodof the year with the roof of the warehouse directly subject to the heatof the sun during the afternoon hours, and in sustained idle storage,air from the upper part of the room may be drawn from, without need ofbeing additionally heated. But generally it is preferable to draw theroom air into the heater from the Zone adjacent the floor since thehotter air of the upper room atmosphere is serving a useful purpose. Thearrangement shown in Figure 16 illustrates a means for applying the a1-ternatives.

In that figure, the blower 45, compartments 46 and 41, and distributor54 are the same as before. Arranged in connection with the intake end ofcompartment 41 is a conduit 9|) in which are arranged independentheaters, here shown as two electrical heating units 9| and 92 of whichthe former has a greater heating capacity than Reference numeral 93designates a manually operable switch connecting the power line with acontrol switch 94 for unit 9|, andy reference numerals 95 and 99designate, respectively, a humidostat and a thermostat in joint controlof the switch 94. With the control instruments set as required, switch94 will remain closed until both settings are satisfied, whereupon theswitch will open. The power line is in connection with unit 92 through amanually operable switch 91.

In connection with the inlet end of conduit 9U is a box 98 having an endopening 99 and a bottom opening |90. Beneath box 98 is -a box |0|,illustrative of any suitable drying means, containing a desiccant, forexample silica gel, and

directly below opening 99 box |0| has anopening I 02-1of the same size.Ashere shown, opening: L .isLclosed .by .a .slide IML-and opening4 L02isclosedbyaslideild. v

i f A conduit'. |05. .hasan .opeiriend adjacent the oor and: extends.upwardly-` in. communication with openings. v$39 .and v|025'. MOppositeopening 99 conduit |05j has .an opening |06 shown as closed by a slide|01. Below the level of opening |02 cond-uit |05 is equippedlwith aslide |08=shown in open position-but adapted to-'close ofE the conduit.

Assiinfing` that storage conditions are@ be. BS- tablisbed afterthebuil'dins. :of `the stachwitches .93"andy91f are.v closest and!withth .Slide vaVeS arranged asshown, air will be drawn upwardly throughconduit from Iadjacent `thelfloor 'and willn pass totheheatersthrcughgbox gli, icy-pass- .ing the drying means im'.Bothotthe heating Units are activ ,but as sooniasv the Y ceriditions aredS.tablished for which instrumentsil'fa'nd Se, or the stack thermostat,are set-heating glunit 91| will be cut out while unit 92 willc'ont-inueto supply the predetermined relatively small amount of heat necessary tomaintain the condition, blower 45 remaining in operation until thesupervisor manually shuts olic the blower and secondary heater afterdetermining that even the operation of the idler heater is no longernecessary for the time being. The blower may be operated with or Withoutthe operation of either or both heaters but neither heater will beoperated unless the blower is also operating.

If it is desired to draw air from the upper part of the room, slide |08is closed and slide |07 is moved downwardly to free opening |06,Regardless of whether air is being admitted through the top or thebottom conduit inlet, it can be made to pass through the drying means bymoving slide |03 to the right to free opening |00 and by moving slideS04 upwardly to free opening ld? and close opening 99. As indicated,conduit |05 is disposed at the end of the aisle between two adjacentstacks and, hence, ,does not interfere with stacking and unstackingoperations,

The stacks have been shown herein as hori- Zontally elongated, thisenabling the localization of the heater-blower means along only onewall, simplifying installation, and conserving space. 'Ihe stackingcould, of course, be arranged on square bases, but this would requirethe installatcin of numerous heater-blower units or elaborate air ductseither of which might obstruct handling operations and would sacrificestorage space. Moreover, in the case cf stacking on a square cr nearlysquare base, the bags would have to be removed from the top'in loadingout, whereas by stacking as illustrated in the drawings, the bags may beloaded out either by removing from the top or from the end remote fromthe source of heat injection, end removal being preferable.

As stated at the outset, the bag material is ordinarily an air-pervioustextile fabric. Attempts have been made to use impervious bagging, buthowever impervious the material mal7 be, it has been practicallyimpossible to keep it absolutely air-tight after handling and stackingthe filled bags.

Any bag to the contents of which air has subsequent access in any manneris considered herein to be air pervious and, hence, subject to treatmentin accordance with the invention.

lt will be understood that the disclosure hercin is intended to beillustrative and that variations in procedure and in the construction,and

10 arrangementifoffi parts@ are contemplated under the claims whichfollow.

Iclaiin: t,

l. In combination, a storage room having a door through which "-bagged.-material can be loaded in or out, a rst plurality of stringersdisposeddn parallel relation on. lthe roomwiioorjand Vspaced jfromtheroom' walls ,fa "mperfora'tef'cov- @rrg'llsupported by thestringersiland extending tramp-,erregend thereof' a., distant? Shdrt 0f,the other .fend thereof, a perforateinat supported by thclstringels andextending from the inner end ofjsaidjcovering to said other endofthes'tringers 'forniesupporr of the bagged material instacked relation,a second plurality ,ot stringers supported by thenrststringerstherea'bpvaand in parallel relation thereto, the second'stringers.extending from s aicl` one end ofY 'the r's'tsftringerstdfthe inner`end `of said covering, ,a "p, rforate matsupported; bysaid secondstringersjpr thesupport Qfgithdibagged material in sytackedvrelation',eigtlst duct means being defined between said first stringers and asecond duct means being defined between said second stringers for thedelivery of a gaseous conditioning medium through the mat perforationssubstantially throughout the bottom area of bagged material stackedthereon, and means for supplying a gaseous conditioning medium underpressure to both of said duct means at said one end.

2. In combination, a storage room having a door through which baggedmaterial can be loaded in or out, a first plurality of stringersdisposed in parallel relation on the room iloor and spaced from the roomwalls, an imperforate covering supported by the stringers and extendingfrom one end thereof a distance short of the other end thereof, aperforate mat supported by the stringers and extending from the innerend of said covering to said other end of the stringers for the supportof the bagged material in stacked relation, a second plurality ofstringers supported by the first stringers thereabove and in parallelrelation thereto, the second stringers extending from said one end ofthe rst stringers to the inner end of said covering, a perforate matsupported by said second stringers for the support of the baggedmaterial in stacked relation, a rst duct means being defined betweensaid first stringers and a second duct means being defined between saidsecond stringers for the delivery of a gaseous conditioning mediumthrough the mat perforations substantially throughout the bottom area ofbagged material stacked thereon, means for supplying a gaseousconditioning medium under pressure to both of said duct means at saidone end, and means at the other end of each of said duct means providingfor restricted escape of said medium from the duct means.

3. Structure according to claim l wherein said mats have imperforatemarginal portions adapted to be overlaid by the bags 4whereby tominimize lateral escape of the gaseous medium at the bottom of thestack.

4. Structure according to claim 1 wherein means is provided forapportioning the supplied gaseous medium between the two duct means.

5. Structure according to claim 2 wherein means is provided forapportioning the supplied gaseous medium between the two duct means.

JOSEPH GRENVILLE MELLEN.

(References on following page;

11 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the illeof ythis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Number m 414,037

Name Date Carson Apr. 6, 1937 Colby et al. June 6, 1939 Campbell May 13,1941 Pirnie Aug. 5, 1941 Skinner Apr. 7, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS CountryDate Great Britain July 24, 1934 OTHER REFERENCES Barn Hay Drier;Agricultural Engineering Publication No. 6, Agricultural EngineeringDevelopment Division, Commerce Department, T. V. A.; Knoxville,Tennessee. Page 20 relied on.

Sugar Handbook; Spencer and Meade, Eighth edition. Pages 242, 243, 273and 274 relied on.

Drying and Processing of Materials by Means of Conditioned Air,published by Carrier Engineering` Corp., Newark, N. J., pages 59, 169and `170 relied on.

